Bleached
Los Angeles natives Jennifer and Jessica Clavin are Bleached. From their early introduction into music to playing at New York Fashion Week, the pop punk sound of these sisters has been compared to iconic bands of the 1970s. Their melodic tones and laid-back vibe is sure to make the list of your most played songs: This is Bleached.
When asked to confirm what year Bleached was formed, Jennifer found herself a little stumped. “It’s funny because [Jessica and I] were just doing an interview the other day and we were trying to figure out the date too. At first, we weren’t planning to make it an official band; we were just jamming around. We both came up with 2010 though.” They had previously been in another band titled, Mika Miko,which eventually disbanded due to other member’s personal reasons.
Lately Bleached has been doing a lot of press for the upcoming release of the first full-length album, Ride Your Heart – out April 2 via Dead Oceans. “We got to spend so much time on each song, everything took a lot longer but we got to focus on each different part,” Jennifer said. “It was a lot of fun being able to go back and listen to the songs to find out what works, what doesn’t and still having time to do that.”
Among their reviews, Bleached has often been compared to icons such as, The Ramones and Blondie. When asked how they felt about being compared to such legendary musicians, Jennifer gushes: “I’m obsessed with Blondie,” she said. “She’s my all time favorite since I was young. I’m surprised because when we record songs, I don’t want them to sound exactly like Blondie. But when we recorded the last album there was one song that I was like, ‘I want this to have a Blondie feel’, so I love when people touch on that because it’s not in their face. I think it’s a total compliment.”
[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–PGy31IeI4′]
Their sound can be attributed, not only to the bands they listened to in high school, like Black Flag and The Germs, but from the influences of their musically-inclined parents as well. “When we were really young, our mom was really into Patsy Cline and Fleetwood Mac and I still really love that stuff too,” Jennifer said.
She went on to tell the story of the first time they picked up an instrument: “Our dad played guitar, he even made a couple guitars. Jessie asked for a bass for Christmas – I think she was in 7th grade, so I said ‘I think I should start playing guitar’. I picked up one of my dad’s crazy-heavy guitars, it was just like solid wood,” she laughs, “and Jessie and I just taught ourselves to play music in our garage.”
If it hadn’t been for the early help of their parents, one can’t help but wonder what the girls would have been doing instead. “Maybe my sister would have been into playing bass because she wanted to do that on her own,” said Jennifer, “I don’t think I would have thought of playing guitar or even singing if my dad hadn’t had guitars laying around. I think I would have gone into fashion.”
Speaking of fashion, the Clavin sisters recently had the opportunity to play at New York Fashion Week for Chloe Sevigny’s 2013 fall line. “It was surprisingly laid back,” Jennifer said of the show, “I had thought it was going to be hectic because that’s what I’ve seen in movies or TV but it was really chill.” Bleached played with four other bands throughout the show. “There were two girls in the middle go-go dancing to every one’s sets, wearing awesome stuff from her line that was like from the ’60s.”
As for how the laid-back members of Bleached wind down after a show, Jennifer shares the hilarious story about one night in Switzerland where the girls decided to have a night out. “We got really stoned and there were these trees in a park we went to and I was like ‘oh my god, these trees are so beautiful we should climb them!’ and I convinced Jessie to be the first one to climb the tree so she did. Then she got stuck. It was the funniest thing ever and no one could help her cause everyone was laughing so hard.”
Bleached will make their McAllen debut on Monday, March 11 for Galax Z Fair II hosted at Cine El Rey.
